Written and Directed by Louise Archambault with Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin Vincent
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GABRIELLE written and directed by Louise Archambault with Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin Vincent-Guillaume Otis, Benoit Gouin, Sébastien Ricard Isabelle Vincent, Marie Gignac, Véronique Beaudet with the participation of Robert Charlebois, Gregory Charles students from Les Muses and La Gang à Rambrou original score and arrangements: François Lafontaine choirmaster and choral arrangements: Hélène-Élise Blais produced by Luc Déry and Kim McCraw press kit [AUGUST 2013] press relations IXION Communications (514) 495.8176 [email protected] synopsis Gabrielle is a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a contagious joie de vivre and an exceptional musical gift. Since she met her boyfriend Martin, at the recreation centre where they are choir members, they have been inseparable. However, because they are “different,” their loved ones are fearful of their relationship. As the choir prepare for an important music festival, Gabrielle does everything she can to gain her independence. As determined as she is, Gabrielle must still confront other people’s prejudices as well as her own limitations in the hope of experiencing a love far from the “ordinary”. GABRIELLE | press kit | August 2013 1 cast Gabrielle Gabrielle MARION-RIVARD Sophie Mélissa DÉSORMEAUX-POULIN Martin Alexandre LANDRY Rémi Vincent-Guillaume OTIS Laurent Benoit GOUIN Raphaël Sébastien RICARD Gabrielle’s mother Isabelle VINCENT Martin’s mother Marie GIGNAC Social worker Véronique BEAUDET With the participation of Robert CHARLEBOIS Grégory CHARLES The students of LES MUSES La Gang à RAMBROU crew Writer/director Louise ARCHAMBAULT Producers Luc DÉRY and Kim McCRAW Script consultant Valérie BEAUGRAND-CHAMPAGNE Casting Lucie ROBITAILLE Acting coach Félixe ROSS Director of photography Mathieu LAVERDIÈRE Designer Emmanuel FRÉCHETTE Costume designer Sophie LEFEBVRE Original score and arrangements François LAFONTAINE Choirmaster and Hélène-Élise BLAIS choral arrangements First assistant director Éric PARENTEAU Make-up artist Kathryn CASAULT Hair stylist Denis PARENT Sound recordist Pierre BERTRAND Editor Richard COMEAU Sound designer Sylvain BELLEMARE Sound mixer Bernard GARIÉPY STROBL Line producer Claude PAIEMENT Production manager Marie-Ginette LANDRY Postproduction supervisor Erik DANIEL Production micro_scope Distribution in Canada Les Films Christal International sales Entertainment One GABRIELLE | press kit | August 2013 2 director’s biography Louise Archambault Louise Archambault holds a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montréal. Her first film, Atomic Saké (1999), attracted attention and toured the international festival circuit, earning the 2000 Jutra for Best Short Film as well as Best Film at the Festival delle Donne in Turin, Italy. In 2002, Louise directed her second short, Mensonges. Her first feature film, Familia, produced by micro_scope, made its international debut in official competition at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival. Familia was invited to numerous international festivals including, Göteborg, Sao Paulo, Taipei, Hong Kong and Jeonju. The film earned the Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, and was nominated in seven categories at the Genie Awards, where it won the Claude Jutra Award for Best First Film. Familia was sold in several countries, including France and the United States. Following her first feature, Louise Archambault directed Lock, a portrait of the choreographer Édouard Lock produced by the NFB and participated in the collective film National Parks Project, which brought together thirteen Canadian directors. She also created the short Jacques et le haricot magique for the web series Fabrique-moi un conte for Radio-Canada, co-directed the docufiction Dictature Affective with Karina Marceau, and shot some advertising campaigns. Gabrielle is her second feature film. GABRIELLE | press kit | August 2013 3 director’s filmography Louise Archambault Gabrielle 2013 | feature film | 102 minutes | HD | micro_scope Dictature Affective 2012 | docufiction co-directed with Karina Marceau | 52 minutes | HD | Productions Vic Pelletier National Parks Project - Kluane 2011 | collective feature film segment | 10 minutes | HD | Primitive Films Fabrique-moi un conte series - Jacques et le haricot 2011 | web series | 6 minutes | HD | Jimmy Lee, Radio-Canada Petite mort 2011 | feature film | 4 minutes | HD | (co-directed with André Turpin and Stéphane Crête) Lock 2010 | documentary short | 5 minutes | S 16mm | ONF Familia 2005 | feature film | 102 minutes | 35mm | micro_scope § Locarno International Festival – Official competition § Toronto International Film Festival - Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature § Palm Springs International Festival - Competed in New Voices, New Visions § Göteborg International Film Festival - International selection § Miami International Film Festival - International selection § Delray Beach Film Festival - Best Foreign Film Award § Hong Kong International Film Festival § Jeonju International Film Festival § Taipei International Film Festival - New Talent selection § Claude Jutra Award for Best First Feature Film and seven other Genie nominations Made in Montreal - Margie Gillis + Neuro-Center 2003 | documentary series | 2 x 4 minutes | video | Locomotion Mensonges 2002 | short fiction | 12 minutes | 35mm | Thalie, Qu4atre par Quatre Atomic Saké 1999 | short fiction court | 32 minutes | 35mm | Filmo § Jutra - Best Short Film § Festival delle Donne - Best Film GABRIELLE | press kit | August 2013 4 Conversation with Louise Archambault How was this project born? Originally there was the desire to talk about happiness, the happiness of marginalised people, who are in a way “invisible,” and the strength that art, such as music - especially choral singing - can provide them. There was also a wish to portray a love story between two young adults with intellectual disabilities; how they experience their love and sexuality, how this emotional awakening suddenly provokes in them a desire for independence and a quest for autonomy. One of the triggers for this idea was a segment on the television show Enjeux about a foster family for people with intellectual disabilities (Une famille particulière, broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2004). I was impressed by the social service worker Jean-Martin Lefebvre-Rivest, who was the inspiration for the character portrayed by the actor Benoit Gouin. I approached Jean-Martin and told him about my idea for a film. We saw each other regularly, I spent time in his residence in order to experience his daily life and that of the disabled, and he introduced me to a few organizations active in this area. He also brought me to the famous Friday night dance that two hundred disabled adults attend every week, which by the way was where we filmed the karaoke and dance scenes in the film with the real crowd of regulars. In my opinion, what makes Jean-Martin special is that he does not infantilise disabled people. Instead, he provides them with tools to develop their potential and facilitate their integration into society. For example, he organizes trips outside of the city, or he makes sure to give daily responsibilities to each resident which helps to reduce their outbursts and anxiety. In short, I had the desire to share the unique reality of Jean-Martin and his residents. During my research, several people with disabilities inspired me, as did the organisation Young Musicians of the World (we filmed a few scenes in their school in India), and also certain choirs with social missions supported by a variety of NGOs around the world. My meetings with music therapists and various people who work with the disabled also helped me to develop my characters and story. I wanted to be true, to be real. What they said greatly inspired me. GABRIELLE | press kit | August 2013 5 How did you find Gabrielle and the organization Les Muses who we see in the film? I went to a play by the company Joe Jack et John that included an actor with an intellectual disability (Michael Nimbley, who has a role as a resident in the film). I discovered that he was a member of Les Muses, a stage arts centre that offers professional training in song, dance, and theatre, to people living with intellectual disabilities, pervasive developmental disorders or physical and sensory challenges. The goal is to turn these people into professionals without denying their limits. I frequented the centre for over a year, which shaped the rewriting of my script. I was floored! This experience helped me visualize the film I wanted to make. Not only do these people live in the present moment, their will is something to witness. It was a pleasure to be in contact with these students. They impressed me with their incredible energy, their talent and their imagination. I was especially charmed by Gabrielle Marion-Rivard. Her radiance, charisma, and authenticity made me want to follow her. Did you know right away that you wanted to shoot the film with them? I continued to write the script with the Muses students in mind. Amongst other things this helped me to define the main character’s disability, Williams syndrome, which Gabrielle Marion-Rivard has, and which predisposes its sufferers to possess musical talent and perfect pitch. When it was time to cast, we wondered if she could handle the lead role and carry the film. Since Gabrielle’s strength is singing and not acting, I did acting and improvisation workshops with her. She knew that she might not get the part, but she wanted to try and explore the possibility. Gabrielle is radiant and the producers and myself came to the conclusion that a professional actress probably wouldn’t have the same authenticity and spontaneity: the role was hers. We spent a lot of time with her and the other actors preparing her for the role and eventually the shoot. I accepted that neither her acting nor her approach to the work would be perfect. My instinct told me to “let go” in order to enable the truth of her actions and reactions to come to the surface, but we still had to face reality. Gabrielle’s disability makes her acting very theatrical, so on film it can appear fake.